Sharpener



Nov. 25, 1924.

J. R. WATTS SHARPENER Filed April 14, 1923 vul- -lllll UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE.

SHARPENER.

Application led April 14, 1923. Serial No. 632,001.

To @ZZ lwhom t may cof/wcm:

Be it known that 1, JOHN ROBERT 1WATTS, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at 8 Oakholme Road, Sheiiield, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sharpeners, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to knife sharpeners, and more particularly to such a device in which a plurality of disks of suitable hard metal have a portion of their peripheries arranged substantially tangentially to one another, and the blade of the knife or other cutting edge to. be sharpened is drawn across and in contact with said tangentially arranged portions.

It has for'its object the provision of a Sharpener simple in construction and elflcient in use, and one which can be readily held in the handwhile in use. A further object of the invention is the provision of a housing for a Sharpener which will be flat, free from sharp corners and completely inclose the sharpening disks, whereby the device as a whole will be particularly useful as a Sharpener for pocket knives and adapted to be carried in the pocket of garments.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear in the following description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several figures of the drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective of the sharpener,

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section through the device of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a transverse section through the same taken on the line 3-3,

Figure 4 is a plan.

rIhe Sharpener will now be described in detail, butthe specific construction shown on the drawing and herein described is to be considered as indicative of the invention only. Such modifications of details of construction, and such changes in form, as fall within the scope of the appended claims, are to be deemed within the spirit of the invention.

The numeral 10 represents a housing formed of a single strip of metal bent at its middle at 11 to form side plates 12 and 13, respectively. rThese plates terminate in linger-hold extensions 14 and l5, which are bent at 16 inwardly out of the planes of the plates into contacting relationship, and together they constitute a means whereby the Sharpener is held between the thumb and forelinger while being used. These fingerhold extensions are shown as substantially circular with their center removed, and are joined to the plates 12 and 13 by the neck portions 16.

The twoI plates of the housing are held together by two spacing members 17 17 the ends of which are reduced and pass through suitable apertures in the plates, being upset to a iush fit with the outer faces of the plates. Besides acting as bracing and spacing members for the plates, these elements 17 form bearing shafts for disks 18 and 19, the disks being mounted upon the elements before assembling them with the plates. The disks revolve freely upon the members 17, this being accomplished by making the bearing apertures in the disks slightly larger' than the diameter of the members 17. This loose mounting of the disks also enables them to tilt in the direction of the pull, and so grip a knife edge when it is drawn lightly between them.

As shown the disks have flat faces, one of which (designated as the rear face) is of greater diameter than the other (or front face). There are thus formed bevelled edges upon the disks, which as shown are slightly overlapped in the finished sharpener. These disks are made of hard steel, or other suitable material, producing at the periphery of the disks a sharp cutting or abrasive edge designated by the numeral 20.

lt will be noted that the bottom of the housing has a curved recess therein, and that the bevelled edges of the disks protrude from the housing slightly at the curved recess and at the upper edge of the housing. This protrusion is to enable the user of the Sharpener to rotate the disks by the use of the thumb and forelinger for the purpose of bringing a fresh or unworn cutting edge into position for use in sharpening a knife edge. The two plates 12 and 13 are provided with aligned kerfs 25 and 26, cut from their upper edges to permit a knife edge to be brought into contact with the overlapped disk edges.

tops, upon Which the Sharpener is set when being used. The sharpener as a Whole is quite thin' and may for this reason be readily carried in the pocket of a garment.

From the foregoing description, it will W be readily understood hoiv the parts of the sharpener are assembled to produce the completed device. The functions assignable to the several details of construction should also be clear from the description. lt remains for recital only the method of using the device in vsharpening a knife edge to complete the full, clear and complete disclosure required. A

The device is grasped between the thumb 0 and foreiiiiger of the left hand and lie-ld preferably in a slightly inclined position with the bottom edge thereof (indicated by the numerals 22 and 24') resting upon a supporting surface, as a. table or desk top.

25 The knife or other cutting edge to 'be sharpened is then placed in the kerfs 2) and 2G and in Contact with the ,overlapped edges of the disks 18 and i9. lWith a slight. down- W'ard pressure the knife edge is drawn for- Ward, or toward the user, when the cutting edges of the disks will act to sharpen the knife edge. Should the disk edges become Worn at any particular places, new portions may be made available by the rotation of the disks with the thumb and forengeiof the left hand.

It will be perceived that the tivo contacting fingerhold extensions lll and l5 may be utilized to hold. a price card inserted and 'i0 clamped between them, or that they may be employed as means for suspendingl a number of the Sharpeners from a display card,

yThe invention having been described, ivhat is claimed as'new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United Qitates is:

l. In a Sharpener, a relatively fiat housing, a pair of cutting disks mounted in said housing and completely inclosed thereby, said housingbeing provided With kerfs to permit accessi of a knife edge to said cutting disks, and lateral extensions from said housing forming linger holds for said Sharpener, the extensions lying between the planes of the housing sides.

2. A Sharpener comprising a housing formed by aI pair of parallelly disposed pilates?, spacing elements for maintaining said plates in iredrelation to each other, cutting disks rotatably mounted Within said housing upon said elements, said plat-es being extended to form finger holds for said Sharpener, and lying between the planes of said housing plates.

3. A Sharpener comprising a housing formed by a pair of parallelly arranged plates, recessed at one sideA and kerfed at the other, and a pair of cutting disks rotatably mounted iii said housing 'and protruding slightly therefrom at said'recessed side, whereby they may be rotated vuponA their axes to bring fresh cutting portions of the disks into use.

4e. A Sharpener comprising a housingy .Toi-IN ROBERT Wafr'rs. 

